Auxiliary jaw with adjustable beaver tail blade



AUXILIARY JAW WITH ADJUSTABLE BEAVER TAIL BLADE Filed March 6. 1959 J. A. TURGEON Dec. 4, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l AUXILIARY JAw WITH ADJUSTABLE BEAVER TAIL BLADE Filed March e. 1959 J. A. TURGEON Dec. 4, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

United States Patent Ofiice $613M Patented Dec. 4, 1952 3,067,300 AUXILIARY JAW WITH ADXUSTABLE BEAVER TAIL BLADE Joseph Albert Turgeon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as-

signor to Eastern Power Devices Limited, Port Credit, Untario, Canada, a limited liability company of Canada Filed Mar. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 797,758 9 Claims. (til. 290-48) My invention relates to a disconnect switch of the dual motion type wherein a single unit acts as both a dual motion hinge and a current carrying connection from the movable blade to a terminal member.

Dual motion switches of the type to which my invention is related are well known in the art, and generally comprise a beaver tail blade or a blade having an outwardly flanged engaging portion. The first motion performed by the blade is an angular motion in a plane and about the hinge as a pivot to bring the blade towards its disengaged position, and a second motion is an angular rotation of the blade about its own axis so as to bring the beaver tail or enlarged contacting section at the end of the blade into high pressure contact engagement with the stationary contact jaw.

In the past, there have been many arrangements by which current may be conducted through the various mechanical hinges required to achieve this dual motion for the movable blade. By way of example, in the patent to Koppitz et al., No. 2,328,283, an auxiliary contact jaw is provided in front of a purely mechanical hinge where the auxiliary jaw was formed to supply all of the required contact pressure between the jaw and the blade. Thus, the auxiliary jaw was a resilient member, and did not serve as a pivot or hinge point for the main blade.

A second maner in which the current path is completed, although there was a dual motion for the blade, is set forth in U.S. Patent No. 2,673,902 to Heberlein where a first current carrying mechanical hinge is provided for the angular motion of the blade in a plane, and a secnd current carrying mechanical hinge is provided to permit the angular rotation of the blade about its own axis.

In the present invention, a novel arrangement for solving this problem is provided wherein a single, rigid auxiliary jaw serves as a hinge for both the angular rotation and axial rotation of the blade, and also serves as the current carrying connection from the blade to a terminal. More specifically, the hinge end of the blade is mounted within a housing member which is pivotally mounted by a first and second opposing contact stud which are electrically connected to the disconnect switch terminal. The blade is rotatable about its own axis with respect to the housing member, and is rotatable in a plane with the pivotally mounted housing member.

The end of the disconnect blade which is positioned between the two contact studs is biased into high pressure contact with the studs by placing an axial cut at the end of the blade and positioning a biasing spring within the blade to bias the cut halves away from one another and into engagement with the studs. This biasing is effective only when the angular position of the blade is such that the beaver tail contact is in high pressure engagement with its respective stationary contact jaw. That is, when the blade is initially rotated about its axis to remove the high pressure contact at the stationary contact jaw, the axis of the slot in the other end of the blade is rotated with respect to the contact studs so that the biasing force of the springs is removed, and this biasing force will not impose any resistance to the subsequent angular motion of the blade when the blade is moved towards the disengaged position.

Accordingly, it is seen that my novel auxiliary jaw serves three distinct functions. First, it forms a high pressure contact at the hinge end of the blade so that a current connection may be made from the blade through the contact studs to the disconnect switch terminal. Secondly, the hinge permits an angular rotation of the blade in a plane about the contact studs as a pivot. Finally, the hinge permits a rotation of the blade about its own axis so that the beaver tail at the opposite end of the blade can come into high pressure contact with the stationary contact jaw, and, at the same time, the biasing means internally carried at the hinge end of the blade causes a high pressure contact to be made between the hinge end of the blade and the contact studs.

Since the auxiliary jaw housing rotates directly with the blade, it will be further apparent that the auxiliary jaw may be easily and simply enclosed so as to prevent the entrance of dirt and foreign matter to the current carrying hinge.

More specifically, a first portion of the hinge must move relative to the contact studs so that this area may contain a simple gasket to prevent entrance of foreign matter at this point. A second portion of the blade must have an angular motion with respect to the contact studs so that it is a relatively simple matter to provide gasketing between the blade and the jaw which will permit this motion while preventing the entrance of foreign matter into the hinge. Finally, a relatively large opening may be provided for the assembly of the contact studs with respect to the jaw, and a cover which may easily snap into place may be provided to enclose this opening. Therefore, the jaw need comprise only the main housing section and it cover with relatively simple gasketing means for completing a substantially airtight seal for the hinge.

Accordingly, the primary object of my invention is to provide a novel current carrying hinge which permits the motion of a blade in an angular direction in a plane, as well as a rotation of the blade about its own axis.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel dual function current carrying hinge wherein an angular motion of a blade is permitted about a contact stud as a pivot with the contact stud engaging a rearwardly protruding portion of the blade.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel auxiliary jaw for a disconnect switch wherein the hinge portion of the blade engages a pair of contact studs which serve as an angular pivot for the blade, and permits an angular rotation of the blade about its own axis.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel enclosed single for a disconnect switch wherein the hinge portion of the blade is slotted, and carries internal biasing means for biasing it into engagement with at least one contact stud which forms the pivot for the blade.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel auxiliary jaw for a disconnect switch wherein a current connection is formed between a contact stud and a slotted end of the disconnect switch blade with a biasing means spreading the slotted end of the blade toward the contact studs when the beaver tail end of the blade is in high pressure contact engagement with its cooperating stationary jaw.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel auxiliary jaw for beaver tail type disconnect switches having a dual blade motion wherein the jaw may be completely enclosed by a relatively simple enclosure.

These and other objects of my invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side plan view of a disconnect switch utilizing my novel auxiliary jaw.

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the switch of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a front view as seen from the righthand side of the switch of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the auxiliary jaw for the blade of FIGURES 1 through 3.

FIGURE 5 is a side View of the jaw of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 4 when taken across the lines 6-6 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is a partial front view of the hinge end of the blade, and specifically illustrates the manner in which the hinge end of the blade is biased for high pressure contact engagement with the contact studs.

Referring first to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the disconnect switch which may utilize my novel auxiliary jaw is generally supported from a support base 10 which is formed of a channel member and has insulator stacks 12, 14 and 16 fastened thereto.

Insulator stack 16 carries the stationary contact jaw 18 and terminal 20 which is the first terminal of the disconnect switch. Note that jaw 18 is comprised of two opposing members 22 and 24 which are biased toward one another so that when the movable disconnect blade comes into engagement with the jaw there will be a substantial amount of contact pressure, as will be described more fully later.

The insulator stack 16 is further seen to carry an arcing horn 26 in the usual manner for cooperation with arcing horn 28 of the disconnect switch blade 30.

The second insulator stack 14 carries a hinge support member 32, as best seen in FIGURE 1, which, as will be seen hereinafter, pivotally mounts the disconnect switch blade. Support member 32, as further seen in FIGURES l and 2, has a leftwardly extending terminal portion 34 which extends beyond insulator stack 12, and is terminated in a terminal 36 which acts as the second terminal for the disconnect switch.

Insulator stack 12 is mounted to be rotatable about its own axis, and its lower portion is connected to an operating crank 38 which is connectable to operating means which may be manual or automatic for rotating insulator stack 12 about its axis. An extension 40 of insulator stack 12 extends through member 34- and terminates on one end of crank arm 42. The other end of crank arm 42 is connected to link 44 through a universal joint 46, and the opposite end of link 44 is pivotally connected to trunnion 48. Trunnion 48 is then rigidly connected to blade 36 by means of a cylindrical section which receives blade 30, and a trunnion pin 50 extends through the cylindrical portion of trunnion 48 and the blade 30 to secure the two members.

The right-hand end of blade 30, as best seen in FIG- URES 2 and 3, is terminated in a beaver tail 52 so that the blade may be easily moved into stationary contact jaw 18 with the beaver tail in a vertical position, and thereafter rotated about its own axis so that the beaver tail becomes horizontal and engages the stationary contacts 22 and 24 of jaw 18 in a high pressure contact engagement.

Blade 30 is provided with a hinge generally seen as hinge 54 in FIGURES l and 2, which permits both angular rotation of the blade towards a disengaged position with respect to stationary contact jaw 18, as well as rotation of blade 30 about its own axis so as to bring beaver tail 52 into the previously described high pressure contact with respect to contact jaw 18. This hinge contact 54 further serves as a current carrying member, as will be seen more .fully hereinafter, for electrically connecting blade 38 to member 34 and terminal 36.

The operation of the switch described to this point is achieved by rotating arm 38 in a clockwise direction with respect to FIGURE 2 whereby crank 42 initially moves the end of link 44 connected to pivot 46 in a substantially straight line perpendicular to base 10. This initial movement will cause a rotation of trunnion 48, and, thus, a rotation of blade 30 about its axis, this rotation being permitted within hinge 54 in a manner to be described hereinafter.

The initial rotation of blade 30 about its axis will remove the high pressure contact engagement between beaver tail 52 and stationary jaw 18 (as Well as a high pressure engagement within jaw 54, as will be seen more fully hereinafter), and continued rotation of crank arm '42 will begin to pull link 44 in a direction parallel to the base 10. This motion of link 44 will pull the upper end of trunnion 48 to the left so that the second motion of switch blade 30 is initiated, which is its angular motion about jaw 54 as a pivot, and the blade is moved to its disengaged position, schematically illustrated in dotted lines in FIGURE 2.

The structure of the novel auxiliary jaw 54 which permits the jaw to serve both as a current carrying member as well as a mechanical hinge for the angular movement of the blade and the rotation of the blade about its own axis is best seen with reference to FIGURES 4 through 7.

FIGURES 4 through 7 specifically show the blade 30 and the manner in which blade 38 is connected to the hinge 54. The hinge end of blade 30, generally identified by numeral 60, is provided with a slot 62 which terminates with a blade retaining pin 64. The hinge end 66 of blade 36 is enclosed in a hinge contact housing 66, which may be a cast metallic part having an appropriate configuration for receiving blade 30 and a pair of contact studs 68 and 7%). More specifically, the hinge end 68 protrudes through an aperture in the right-hand end of contact housing 66 and is rotatable about its axis with respect to housing 66 by virtue of bearing collars 71 and 72. Each of bearing collars 71 and 72 may be made of any desired material, such as stainless steel, and have an extremely small thickness which could be approximately 0.15 inch.

A depression 74 is further placed in the internal opening of contact housing 66 for receiving blade 36 to receive a grease for lubricating this portion of the hinge.

Each of contact studs 68 and 70 are contained within respective apertures in housing 66 having steel washers 76 and 78 positioned between shoulder portions of the contact studs and the internal surface of contact housing 66. Furthermore, each of the apertures in housing 66 for receiving contact studs 68 and 76 have grooves 80 and 82 respectively for receiving grease for lubricating this portion of the hinge. Contact studs 68 and 70 are then provided with tapped openings 84 and 86 which receive bolts, such as bolts 88 and 90 respectively as seen in FIGURES l, 2 and 3 for fastening the studs to the stationary support 32 of FIGURES 1 and 2. Accordingly, the housing 66 is pivotally mounted on contact studs 68 and 74 so that the complete blade may pivot about these contact studs which are supported from member 32 of FIGURE 1.

In order to achieve a high pressure connection between hinge end 60 of blade 30 and the contact faces 92 and 94 of contact studs 68 and 70 respectively, the hinge end of the blade 38 is slotted by the slot 62. As shown in FIGURES 4, 6 and 7, the slotted portion of the blade is provided with two opposing openings 96 and 88 (FIG- URE 7) having their axis perpendicular to a line connecting the slot 62 on either side of blade 30. Each of openings 96 and 98 receive a spring housing member 160 and 162 respectively which are retained within the blade portion 60 by means of extending portions such as extending portions 184 and 106 of spring housing which may be formed integrally with the housing.

A spring is then contained between the two housings 100 and 102 so as to normally tend to spread the slotted end of blade portion 60. This spreading, when the blade is in the position of FIGURE 4, will obviously cause a high pressure contact engagement between blade portion 60 and contact studs 68 and 70. However, when the blade is rotated about its axis, the spreading will be in a direction which is perpendicular to, or at an angle to, the line between Contact studs 68 and 70 so that this biasing contact pressure is removed or decreased.

Accordingly, by placin slot 62 in a position to have the biasing action of spring lltlS effective when beaver tail 52 is in its high pressure contact engagement withv respect to stationary jaw 18 of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, it will be apparent that both the auxiliary jaw end of the switch and the stationary contact end of the switch will be in high contact pressure engagement with their cooperating conductive members. When, however, the blade is rotated about its axis, in preparing to move the blade to its disengaged position, then the high contact pressure of both the beaver tail and the auxiliary jaw will be released so that the blade may be easily moved.

In order to complete the enclosure of hinge contact housing 66, a removable cover MP8 is provided. Removable cover 188 has a leaf spring 11% riveted thereto by rivets I12 and 114. The extending end of leaf spring 110 bends outwardly so as to move into snap-type engagement with protrusion lid of housing 66. Accordingly, the cover 103 may be snapped into and out of its covering position with respect to housing 66.

From the foregoing structure, the manner in which the dual motion of the blade is permitted while the hinge also serves as an electrical connection between the blade and terminal 36 of the disconnect switch should be apparent. Thus, when trunnion 48 is rotated, blade portion 66 rotates with respect to housing 66 and with respect to contact studs 68 and '76. After this initial rotation is completed, the contact pressure at the beaver tail 52 and at the hinge end portion 61} is substantially removed, so that a continued rotation of the operating mechanism of FIGURES l, 2 and 3 which cause a leftward motion of the trunnion 48 will cause an angular rotation of the blade and the housing 66 about contact studs 68 and 70 as a pivot with relatively little contact pressure forces opposing this motion.

It is to be noted that my novel auxiliary jaw not only permits these new and unobvious results of a current carrying dual motion hinge, but it is further an extremely desirable structure in its ease of manufacturing and assembly. That is to say, a relatively small number of parts are required in the manufacture, and the stationary portion of the contact hinge need not be flexible, since the biasing force is obtained by the simple novel spring carried by the blade itself.

In assembling the hinge, the contact studs 68 and 70 are inserted in position through the open left-hand end of the hinge with cover 1% removed. The Washers 71 and 72 are then placed in position, and the hinge portion 60 of blade 30 is thereafter moved through its corresponding opening in housing 66, and the retaining pin is put into position, and the blade being later returned to the position which it will normally occupy. Prior to this return, the spring housings d and 102 are slipped into their corresponding openings 96 and 98 respectively of blade portion 60, and spring 1% is thereafter inserted between these two spring housings. The blade is then returned to the normal position it is to occupy, as determined by retaining pin 64 which is larger than the opening which received blade 30 in housing 66, and the cover section 108 is then snapped into its position to completely enclose the hinge.

As well as being desirable in manufacture of the hinge, the simplicity of the structure is extremely desirable for purposes of maintenance and for purposes of replacement of the contact studs 68 and 70, if thi becomes necessary after an extended period of operation.

Although I have described preferred embodiments of my novel invention, many variations and modifications will now be obvious to those skilled in the art, and I prefer therefore to be limited not by the specific disclosure herein but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hinge for a current carrying elongated blade; said hinge comprising a first member operatively connected to said blade and a current carrying pivot member pivotally connected to said first member; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said first member and being angularly rotatable with said first member in a plane; said current carrying pivot member electrically engaging a portion of said blade; said first member being angularly movable in a plane about said pivot member; said portion of said blade electrically engaging said current carrying pivot member having a slot therein; said portion of said blade having said slot therein having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias the portions of said blade defined by said slot away from one another to assure a high pressure contact between said blade and said current carrying hinge member when said blade is in at least a predetermined position.

2. A hinge for a current carrying elongated blade; said hinge comprising a first member operatively connected to said blade and a current carrying pivot member pivotally connected to said first member; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said first member and being angularly rotatable with said first member in a plane; said current carrying pivot member electrically engaging a portion of said blade; said first member being angularly movable in a plane about said pivot member; said current carrying pivot member including at least a pair of stationarily mounted conductive studs positioned on either side of said portion of said blade; said portion of said blade electrically engaging said current carrying member having a slot therein; said slotted portion of said blade having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias the portions of said blade defined by said slot away from one another to assure a high pressure contact between said blade and said current carrying hinge member when said blade is in at least a predetermined position.

3. A hinge for a current carrying elongated blade; said hinge comprising a first member operatively connected to said blade and a current carrying pivot member pivotally connected to said first member; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said first member and being angularly rotatable with said first member in a plane; said current carrying pivot member electrically engaging a portion of said blade; said first member being angularly movable in a plane about said pivot member; said current carrying pivot member including at least a pair of stationarily mounted conductive studs positioned on either side of said portion of said blade; said portion of said blade electrically engaging said current carrying member having a slot therein; said slotted portion of said blade having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias the portions of said blade defined by said slot away from one another to assure a high pressure contact between said blade and said current carrying hinge member when said blade is in at least a predetermined position; said first member of said hinge forming an enclosable housing for said hinge.

4. A hinge for a current carrying elongated blade; said hinge comprising a first member operatively connected to said blade and a current carrying pivot member pivotally connected to said first member; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said first member and being angularly rotatable with said first member in a plane; said current carrying pivot mer ber electrically engaging a portion of said blade; said first member being angularly movable in a plane about said pivot member; said portion of said blade electrically engaging said current carrying pivot member having a slot therein; said portion of said blade having said slot therein having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias the portions of said blade defined by said slot away from one another to assure a high pressure contact between said blade and said current carrying hinge member when said blade is in at least a predetermined position; said blade being terminated in a beaver tail; said beaver tail having a high pressure contact angular position; said slot being arranged to permit said high pressure contact between said blade and said current carrying hinge member when said beaver tail is in said high pressure contact angular position.

5. A hinge for a current carrying elongated blade; said hinge comprising a first member operatively connected to said blade and a current carrying pivot member pivotally connected to said first member; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said first member and being angularly rotatable with said first member in a plane; said current carrying pivot member electrically engaging a portion of said blade; said first member being angularly movable in a plane about said pivot member; said portion of said blade electrically engaging said current carrying pivot member having a slot therein; said portion of said blade having said slot therein having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias the portions of said blade defined by said slot away from one another to assure a high pressure contact between said blade and said current carrying hinge member when said blade is in at least a predetermined position; said biasing means comprising a spring carried within the portions of said blade defined by said slot.

6. A dual motion current carrying hinge for a dis connect switch blade; said switch blade being angularly rotatable in a plane, and being rotatable about its axis; a housing and a pair of contact studs; said housing having an aperture therein for receiving said blade and being angularly rotatable with said blade; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said housing; said housing pivotally receiving said pair of contact studs; said pair of contact studs being positioned on either side of said blade received by said housing and being electrically engaged with said blade; said pair of contact studs being relatively fixed and serving as a pivot for angular rotation in a plane by said housing and said blade; the portion of said blade received by said housing having a slot therein for defining a first and second portion; said blade portion having a slot therein having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias said first and second portions of said blade portion into high pressure contact engagement with a respective stud of said pair of contact studs when said blade is in a predetermined position.

7. A dual motion current carrying hinge for a disconnect switch blade; said switch blade being an gularly rotatable in a plane, and being rotatable about its axis; a housing and a pair of contact studs; said housing having an aperture therein for receiving said blade and being angular rotatable with said blade; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said housing; said housing pivotally receiving said pair of contact studs; said pair of contact studs being positioned on either side of said blade received by said housing and being electrically engaged with said blade; said pair of contact studs being relatively fixed and serving as a pivot for angular rotation in a plane by said housing and said blade; the portion of said blade received by said housing having a slot therein for defining a first and second portion; said blade portion having a slot therein having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias said first and second portions of said blade portion into high pressure contact engagement with a respective stud of said pair of contact studs when said blade is in a predetermined position; said disconnect switch blade be ing terminated in a beaver tail; said beaver tail having a high pressure contact angular position; said slot being arranged to permit said high pressure contact between said first and second blade portions of said blade and said pair of contact studs when said beaver tail is in said high pressure contact position.

8. A dual motion current carrying hinge for a disconnect switch blade; said switch blade being angularly rotatable in a plane, and being rotatable about its axis; a housing and a pair of contact studs; said housing having an aperture therein for receiving said blade and being angularly rotatable with said blade; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said housing; said housing pivotally receiving said pair of contact studs; said pair of contact studs being positioned on either side of said blade received by said housing and being electrically engaged with said blade; said pair of contact studs being relatively fixed and serving as a pivot for angular rotation in a plane by said housing and said blade; the portion of said blade received by said housing having a slot therein for defining a first and second portion; said blade portion having a slot therein having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias said first and second portions of said blade portion into high pressure contact engagement with a respective stud of said pair of contact studs when said blade is in a predetermined position; said biasing means comprising a compression spring.

9. A dual motion current carrying hinge for a disconnect switch blade; said switch blade being angularly rotatable in a plane, and being rotatable about its axis; a housing and a pair of contact studs; said housing having an aperture therein for receiving said blade and being angularly rotatable with said blade; said blade being rotatable about its axis with respect to said housing; said housing pivotally receiving said pair of contact studs; said pair of contact studs being positioned on either side of said blade received by said housing and being elecrically engaged with said blade; said pair of contact studs being relatively fixed and serving as a pivot for angular rotation in a plane by said housing and said blade; the portion of said blade received by said housing having a slot therein for defining a first and second portion; said blade portion having a slot therein having a single biasing means positioned therein to bias said first and second portions of said blade portion into high pressure contact engagement with a respective stud of said pair of contact studs when said blade is in apredetermined position; said disconnect switch blade being terminated in a beaver tail; said beaver tail having a high pressure contact angular position; said slot being arranged to permit said high pressure contact between said first and second blade portions of said blade and said pair of contact studs when said beaver tail is in said high pressure contact position; said slot being a longitudinal slot lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane or" said beaver tail.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,099,607 Huttin ger Nov. 16, 1937 2,174,237 Crabbs Sept. 26, 1939 2,205,497 Schwager et al. June 25, 1940 2,510,051 De Montmollin et al. June 6, 1950 2,741,672 Harrison Apr. 10, 1956 

